Why did Japan not try to seize Hawaii and strike the Panama Canal in 1941?
Short answerThose operations might have delayed the American counteroffensive, but they required a much larger and riskier opening campaign than Japan attempted.
NotesThe proposed alternative combines a larger assault on Hawaii with an attack on the Panama Canal. Continued carrier strikes would suppress defenses while landing forces attempted to seize the islands. Closing the canal would slow reinforcement from the Atlantic, while losing Hawaii would deprive the United States of its forward base. In this counterfactual, Japan might gain six to twelve months without solving its underlying industrial disadvantage.